Wedded in Sin (38 page)

She had other attendants besides Penny. Eight in all, each with a special pair of slippers made by Penny’s own hand. As if on cue, all the girls raised their gowns to show off their shoes in a line. Penny displayed her own, and then they cheered. Beautiful. Shoes, gown, attendants, and bride—all giddily happy. This was her life, Penny decided with a smile, and she would not allow a missing mad toff to dampen any of it.

The ceremony began and Penny had to admit that Anthony was a handsome devil. As he stood tall and proud, she wondered if Samuel would look so desperately happy at their wedding. Would his eyes sparkle and would his every expression say he couldn’t believe how lucky he was? Anthony did, and in her imagination, Samuel would as well.

The service went as planned with vows spoken strong enough to be heard in heaven. And if their kiss was a bit scandalous, no one seemed to mind, least of all Francine. Then there were hugs all around and the wedding breakfast.

It went exactly as it ought except that, every once in a while, Penny would catch a glimpse of a lanky man with wild hair. She thought it might be Samuel, but when she looked closer, she didn’t see him. She’d mistaken someone else or imagined something entirely different from what it was. In those moments, her heart twisted painfully, and she worried that this, too, would be her life for the next however many decades. Would she forever be looking for him, only to be painfully disappointed?

Hours later, Tommy was beginning to get cranky. He needed his nap, and Penny needed the quiet. She would rest with him or perhaps work on some shoes. Anything to take her mind off Samuel and weddings.

Mrs. Appleton was having too good a time, so Penny refused to let her come home early. She collected little Tommy and hailed a hackney, then settled back into the squabs with a sad sigh. It didn’t matter what her mind told her or how many times she resolved to be happy. Her heart loved Samuel, and like it or not, she would remain true to him. God willing, he would be true in return and one day come to her a whole man. One who did not question his value to her and one who also remained blessedly out of debtor’s prison.

She hadn’t even realized she was crying until Tommy’s hand brushed at the wetness on her cheeks.

“It will work out,” she reassured the boy. “It will. Someday.” Then she dropped her head on the boy’s and cradled him close as they made it the rest of the way to the shop.

She disembarked, juggling Tommy in one hand and her bouquet of flowers in the other. The shop was closed for the day as everyone was at Francine’s wedding, but she had the key to the back workroom so she headed there. She was barely two steps into the alleyway between buildings when she pulled up short at the sight of Ned Wilkers pacing in agitation right outside the workroom door.

“Ned?” she gasped. What would Mr. Addicock’s clerk be doing here?

“Miss Shoemaker! Thank the Lord I found you!”

She rushed forward, seeing that his hair was pulled askew, his eyes were wild, and he clutched a satchel as if his life depended on it.

“Ned, what has happened?”

“It’s all true. I went looking like Mr. Morrison said, and it’s all true!” This last ended on a wail loud enough to startle Tommy, who had been drowsing on her shoulder.

“Come inside. Tell me everything!”

“No! No! We have to go to the constable. Addicock found me. He knows what I have!” So saying, he jerked the satchel forward, but he didn’t release his grip on it.

“Is that proof?”

He nodded, though the motion was wild. “The marriage license from your Bible. Practice signatures. The fake will. Everything, but there’s something else. He’s going to do it to someone else, too!”

“What?”

“A baker with a young son. It’s terrible what he plans! And when I found out—”

Fear tightened Penny’s chest. “Oh, Ned, you didn’t confront him, did you?”

“Lord, no! I grabbed everything! Couldn’t let him do it. Not to somebody else. But he came back from lunch too soon and he saw me. Miss Shoemaker, he
saw
me!”

Ned’s fear was palpable and Penny fumbled with the keys to the shop. They had to get inside, out of the open. Finally she rammed the key in and twisted, unlocking the door.

“Inside,” she hissed.

Ned dashed inside, but once there he obviously didn’t know what to do. They had to go to the constable; that was certain. But she had Tommy in her arms and a damned bouquet of flowers, which she immediately dumped on a worktable. Bloody hell, where was everybody?

At the wedding, of course. And their new footman, Foster, had the day off. She and Ned were on their own. Damn! She’d just have to take Tommy with them. Juggling the boy, she turned to Ned.

“We’ll go to the constable now. You have all the proof in there?” she asked, gesturing to the satchel.

He nodded, but his eyes were frantic. “You don’t understand. He saw me take these! He followed me!”

Fear gripped her belly. “But you’ve been waiting outside the shop. He couldn’t have—”

“I ran, Miss Shoemaker. I ran faster than him, but he’s got a gun. I’ve seen it. He’s got a gun, and he said he’d kill me.” The boy was shaking with terror, and his fear was ratcheting up her own.

“We have to stay calm. You say you outran him? Does he know you’ll come here?”

Ned shook his head. “No.”

But at the exact same instant, a thick voice said, “Yes.”

She whirled around. The workroom door was open, and there stood Addicock, looking almost as wild as Ned. But only “almost” because the hand holding the gun appeared damn steady to her.

“Give over the sack, Ned,” he said calmly as he stepped inside. “No one needs to get hurt.”

Ned shook his head, and Penny could hear the way his breath had shortened into tight pants of panic. “You killed her parents! You stole her shop!”

“I didn’t kill anyone,” Addicock snapped. “It was all him! He made me!”

“Who?” Penny asked. She didn’t really want to bring the man’s attention to her, but the question was startled out of her. “Who killed my parents?”

“The same bastard who will kill you if you don’t shut up. Now give me that bag, Ned!”

Ned’s eyes hopped between Addicock and Penny. Then he abruptly straightened. “No, I won’t! And it don’t matter anyway. Soon as I can, I’m going to the constable. I’m going to tell them everything!”

“You bloody idiot,” Penny groaned. This wasn’t the time for the boy to get noble. Not with a gun pointed at them! And Tommy still on her shoulder! “Give him the bag and swear you won’t say a word!”

Ned’s eyes practically bugged out. “What?”

She looked at Addicock, keeping her voice steady. “I’m going to set Tommy down now. He’s getting heavy and then we can work all this out.”

“Don’t move!” he snapped as he swung the gun in her direction.

She tried her best to smile reassuringly at him. She couldn’t get agitated. It would wake Tommy and that was the last thing they all needed: a screaming toddler in their midst. “I’m on your side here,” she lied. “I’ve got a good situation in this shop. Don’t want anything changing that.” Then she took a step to the pen they’d set up for Tommy in the workroom. “I’m just putting him down.” With luck, it would keep the child safe from whatever was about to happen.

She shifted the boy, settling him down in the pen. He stirred, but didn’t wake, his little mouth pursing as he found his thumb and began to suck. Penny spent the whole time holding her breath while her back prickled with awareness of the men—and the gun—right behind her. All three of them remained absolutely still, waiting to see if Tommy would drop into sleep. None of them wanted a child in the middle of this.

The boy settled, thank God, and Penny turned to face Addicock. Except the man was no longer alone. Slipping up silently behind him was their new footman, Foster. She did no more than open her mouth in shock, and then it was over. Foster pressed his own gun to the back of Addicock’s head and spoke low and menacing.

“Hard to miss killing a man at this distance,” he said. “Now stop waving that pistol around and give it here. You’ll wake the boy if it goes off.”

Addicock was frozen in terror, his body and his breath completely cut off. It was left to Foster to reach around and pull the gun out of the man’s hand. Easy enough to do, thank God, and in a minute Addicock was pushed hard against the wall so Foster could tie his hands tight behind his back with a rope.

Meanwhile, Ned collapsed into Tabitha’s chair, his breath escaping in a stuttering exhale. “Thank God. Thank God.”

“No,” she said firmly. “Thank you, Foster. I don’t know what possessed you to be here on your day off, but I am extremely grateful.”

The man flashed her a grin. “It weren’t my day off, actually. I was hired to watch you and the shop, and that’s what I did. Now, if you’ll give me that bag of proof, Ned, I’ll make sure it gets to the constable.”

Ned straightened, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. “No one touches this but—”

“I’m a Bow Street Runner, boy. Hired on by Mr. Morrison. Now it suits me just fine if you come with me to see the constable. But whether you come or not, that bag of proof is coming with me now.”

Ned’s eyes widened. Likely Penny’s were just as huge. “You’re a Runner?” asked Ned.

“Hired by Samuel?” asked Penny.

The man nodded. “Owed him a favor,” he said by way of answer. “He saw me just before leaving town. Told me what was up, and I swore to watch you, miss. But I couldn’t find that Bill person. Hard to investigate while watching out for you.”

Finally, Penny’s knees gave out. She’d thought Samuel had abandoned her, but he’d found a way to keep her safe nonetheless. And if Ned really had proof just like he said, then everything was set right. The shop, the false will, everything would be straightened out.

“Have you heard anything from Samuel?” she asked, too afraid to voice her real thoughts:
Was he safe? Was he in jail?

“Not a word. Sorry. But he’s a smart ’un. He’ll be back. Especially once he hears about what happened here.”

She straightened. “But how will he find out? How will you tell him?”

The man just shrugged. “Won’t tell him, but he’ll find out, never you fear. He’s a man who knows things. Especially when it’s important.” Then he grabbed Addicock and jerked him toward the door. “Come along, Ned. It’s a long walk to the constable’s and I mean to have a nice hot supper as soon as it’s done.”

So it was over. Foster took Addicock and Ned away, leaving her future if not assured, at least remarkably hopeful. Tommy was asleep. The dress shop was quiet. She had at least a couple hours before her in which to celebrate.

Instead, she dropped her head onto the worktable and sobbed.

Where was Samuel?

Chapter 24

Two days later the shop was busier than ever. The day
after Francine’s wedding, they’d received news that Helaine, now Lady Redhill, would soon be returning from her honeymoon. Somehow that news leaked to the rest of the
ton
, and the number of appointments increased even without the lady home yet. Apparently, her notoriety brought in customers. With customers came new shoe orders, and Penny was quickly scheduled for the next three weeks for measuring and creating likes. Now she had to get an apprentice for sure, but she was too busy to search.

So it was that she was in the workroom, carving a block of wood, when a knock at the back door startled her. She glanced at Wendy, who was present today, stitching a dress with quick flicks of her wrist. The two women exchanged a shrug, and Penny went to answer it.

The man waiting on the opposite side had her breath catching in her chest in fear. He wasn’t a large man by any means. Foster was easily a couple stone heavier, but something about this man’s dark hair, slick smile, and slow nod of greeting made every inch of Penny’s body recoil.

She gasped and instantly took a step back. He didn’t seem surprised, and thankfully, he didn’t take advantage either. He simply stood there with a set smile on his very smooth face. It was Wendy who reacted, straightening up from her worktable with palpable anger.

“You have no right to be here!” she snapped as she rushed to Penny’s side.

He didn’t respond except to nod and bow almost insolently at the seamstress. But then he turned back to Penny. “I apologize for the intrusion, Miss Shoemaker, but I believe I have inadvertently wronged you. I am here to make amends.”

Penny frowned. His tone was kind, but the way Wendy was reacting made her very suspicious. “I’m sorry. I don’t understand,” she said as politely—and as coldly—as she could manage.

“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Damon Porter. I own a gambling den some miles from here.”

Wendy piped up. “He owns three gambling dens and most people call him Demon Damon.”

That’s when she remembered. He was the man who’d killed the footpad some weeks ago. The night Samuel had first brought her to the brothel. Mr. Porter looked different in the daylight, but he was definitely the one who’d thrown a knife through the footpad’s throat. Samuel had said he was a dangerous man and at the moment she believed it. Especially as his smile grew wider, as if he enjoyed his demonic nickname.